Three Strange Days
by hotandcold
Summary: Three years after leaving La Push, Leah runs into Jacob at the SciFi/Fantasy convention, Dragon Con, in Atlanta. Jake is there to work, Leah's there to play. Both are surprised to see the other. AH/AU entry for the Sort of Beautiful Challenge.


"SORT OF BEAUTIFUL CHALLENGE" Entry

**Title: Three Strange Days**

**Your pen name(s): hotandcold**

**If you would like to see all the stories that are a part of this challenge visit the "SORT OF BEAUTIFUL CHALLENGE" profile page:**

**http://www(dot)fanfiction(dot)net/u/2046940/**

**DISCLAIMER: Twilight characters and related likeness owned by Stephenie Meyer, Little Brown Publishing. No profits have been received in the production of this piece.**

Day 1

LPOV

I cannot believe how much my reality has changed in one four-hour plane ride from San Francisco.

A few hours ago, I was in my favorite pair of worn jeans, black t-shirt, and Converse sneakers, my carry-on bag slung over my arm, making my way to my seat aboard my flight. I had opted to skip out on my class in order to arrive in Atlanta in time to check-in to the hotel.

Seated, I put my ear buds in and tried to fit my long-ass legs into the space between rows in coach class, immediately powering up my laptop so I could finish my term paper, hoping to free up my weekend for more interesting pursuits.

This weekend was the legendary Sci-Fi/Fantasy convention, Dragon Con, a four-day weekend in which self-proclaimed super heroes, Storm Troopers, passengers on the Starship Enterprise, and paranormal creatures descended on Atlanta and turned it into their own personal Fantasy Land.

And this year, I was going to be a part of it. I had harbored a secret obsession for paranormal romance novels for several years now. One series in particular, _The Dark-Hunters_ by Sherrilyn Kenyon, was my hands-down favorite. It combined a world of mythical characters, plenty of action, romance and, to be honest, smut. Not many of my friends at UC Berkeley would understand or approve. And, yeah, I pretended to be way too high-brow for it myself. But, behind closed doors? Well, Ash and his mind-blowingly handsome Hunters had gotten me through many lonely nights.

So, there I was, checking-in to the downtown Atlanta Marriott for three days and texting my cyber friends—three other Kenyon "minions" who agreed to meet and pop our Dragon Con cherries together.

In costume.

If my friends at Berkeley or my family could see me now? Well, add it to my list of things I'd never live down.

I took a quick look around at the crazies parading through the hotel lobby, and realized I needed to take a deep breath and get over it. For this weekend, at least, I was one of them.

Two hours later, after changing into more Con-appropriate attire and attending a Q-and-A with Sherrilyn Kenyon, I ditched my new friends and hustled over to The Dark-Hunter booth at the Exhibitors Hall. Word had it that they were giving out red armbands, my ticket into an autograph session with Kenyon herself. Was it a bitchy move to ditch the group? Sure, but I'd been a loner for a long time and was no stranger to being labeled a bitch. And, I didn't bring my hardcover of _Acheron_ all the way from California for nothing.

I was relieved to see that the booth wasn't yet crowded. I had managed to get there ahead of the rest of the minions, thank God, and thanks to my aforementioned ridiculously long legs. I hated waiting in lines. I ignored a text from one of my friends, Ann, while I perused the merchandise and tried to intimidate the soccer mom with the obvious vampire fetish into hurrying the hell up. I needed to speak to the guy at the booth about one of those damn bands before the over-eager fans descended.

I drummed my long, blood-red nails on the counter and edged closer to her, purposely invading her personal space, and flashed one of my rare but dazzling smiles to distract counter guy. It worked. Soccer mom walked away and counter guy was all mine.

"Hey, there. I was told to ask about a red armband." I leaned over a bit, giving him a peek down the front of my black wife beater to the top of my black lace bra. Soccer mom stopped mid-step and turned back around.

"Oh, that's right. I need one, too."

Oh, no she didn't. I arched an eyebrow at her and stared down my nose. Soccer mom actually shrank back.

Counter guy seemed mildly amused by our little female pissing contest, but he could only shrug as he delivered the news. "Sorry, ladies. We're all out."

The fuck? I might have actually growled my frustration. Soccer mom skittered away, getting swallowed up by the growing crowd. I opened my phone, finally texted Ann back: _Hey, lost you guys. DH booth=0 armbands._

I closed my phone, then shoved it into my little coffin handbag. What? The bag was the perfect accessory to my outfit, the rest of which consisted of a pleated black patent leather miniskirt and matching knee-high platform boots. I tossed my long hair over my shoulder and hunched over to take a better look at the jewelry.

That's when Ann and the gang caught up to me. "Leah! There you are. I can't believe they're out! I am so depressed. Oooo, I want that t-shirt!"

I waved, but kept my head down, continuing to study the jewelry.

"Hi, ladies. Did you have fun with Sherrilyn?" asked a deep voice. A new guy must have arrived to help out at the booth. I heard the soft sound of the air being sucked out of the room as my cohorts got a look at him. My motley crew became reduced to a giggling mass.

Okay, really. New guy had a nice, deep voice, but come on, ladies. Have you no game? I had heard that Sherrilyn liked to hire attractive people to run her booth and assist during her panels. People who were the embodiment of the god-like characters from her novels. But, honestly, how hot could this guy be? I looked up.

That's when my strange new reality got a blast from the past.

I sucked in a breath of my own. Holy shit! It's Jacob fucking Black.

*****

JPOV

Happy to have gotten the hell out of upstate Washington for another convention, I was currently dazzling the ladies at The Dark-Hunter booth while trying to get the tall drink of water in the patent leather miniskirt to pay attention to me. I couldn't believe the height on her. It wasn't everyday that I got the chance to meet a girl that was actually tall enough for me. At six-seven, you can kind of count on having to crouch just to make out with most girls. This one had to be around six-feet tall, and apparently proud of it, since the shoes she was wearing would put her at about six-two. She finally straightened up and looked dead at me.

Leah Clearwater?!

"No way." I laughed. "Leah?" I watched the beginning of a smile slide away from her face. She looked startled, then something close to mortified. And hot. I mean hot. Who knew Leah liked to play dress-up?

"Leah?" asked the girl to her left. She was cute, dressed like some sort of schoolgirl demon. "Do you know him?" The other two elbowed each other and giggled.

Leah blew out a frustrated breath. "Uh… yeah, I guess I do." Was she blushing? "Ann, Jules, Bridget, this is Jacob Black. An old… friend." The word actually seemed to have a bad taste as it left her blood-red lips.

Ouch. I guess reminders from home aren't high on her list. I can't say that I blame her, and I mostly feel the same way, but hey, it's me, Jake, the other omega-wolf outcast from the La Push rez.

We stared at each other for a minute. I tried another smile, making one of her friends sigh loudly, but it only made Leah frown.

"Yeah, so this is awkward," Chris, my cohort at the DH booth, observed. He shook his head before inviting Leah's friends to look at some merchandise at the other end of the counter.

Leah leaned toward me, growling in a low voice, "So help me God, Jacob Black, if you breathe a word of this to anyone…."

Okay, there's the bitchy Leah I know and love. Even before she fell head-over-heels in love with Sam and was unceremoniously dumped by him for her own cousin, Leah had been a bitch. She was three years older than me and had always treated me the way she did her kid brother, Seth. Like an annoying pest.

I used to love to torment her. But that was before I watched her heart get torn out of her chest; she became bitter, then hollow, before the whole town had written her off—because her continued pain made people uncomfortable—while Sam got off scot-free. I had tried then to befriend her, but she would have none of that.

Then, I got my own heart broken and was labeled an outcast for having chosen a white girl over one of my own kind. Then I understood her. And I missed her like hell.

Not just because we had heartbreak in common, but because what nobody knew was that I'd had a crush on her since I was nine years old.

It was summer. Leah was twelve. Our families were on yet another camping trip together. My dad had sent me to get the cooler of food for dinner. Everybody was down on the beach, hanging out or playing in the water as the sun set.

I went to grab the cooler and heard some rustling from inside the tent. I froze, thinking it was a bear or something. Terrified, I crept over to the tent and peered inside. What I saw made my jaw drop and my eyes grow wide until they burned.

Leah was inside the tent changing into a t-shirt from her wet, sandy bathing suit. She turned slightly, tugging on the knot that held her bikini top around her back, the two triangles folded down toward her waist. Leah Clearwater was half-naked and, sometime since last summer, she had gotten boobs.

I had always thought Leah was pretty, in a sometimes scary sort of way, but now she had boobs. And that made all the difference. Shallow? Yes. But I was a nine-year-old boy.

Yeah, I got caught. Her eyes had grown wide right before they narrowed into daggers. Her hands had flown up to cover her chest. "Jacob fucking Black, you perv! I'm going to kill you!"

I chuckled at the memory.

"What?" Leah demanded.

I threw my hands up in surrender, grinning at her. "Nothing. I won't tell anybody. But really, Kenyon's nothing to be embarrassed about. I've read some of what she writes, sort of had to if I wanted the job. It's good. It's pretty hot, too." Did she just blush again?

"Perv," she muttered, fighting a smile. I reached over the counter and nudged her shoulder. She smacked my hand away, and we both laughed.

"So, I guess 'good to see you' doesn't really fit the situation. But it is good… and strange." I rested my forearms on the counter, leaning closer to her. When had she gotten all those piercings in her ears? It made her seem bitchier… and hotter.

She was obviously studying me, too. "Hey, when did you get that tat?" she asked, reaching her hand up to trace the black tribal phoenix that covered my bicep and disappeared under my shirt where it extended to cover half my chest. Her fingers felt really warm on my arm. I almost jumped at the jolt of electricity from the unexpected contact. What the hell?

"About a year ago. It's been a while since anyone's seen you, you know," I reminded her softly.

"Yeah, well, nobody's all that broken-up about it, except maybe Mom and Seth." She shrugged, but her eyes were sad as she looked down.

"I wouldn't say that."

Her eyes met mine and held my gaze, searching for some hidden meaning. Something I couldn't name flickered across her face. Then it was gone, replaced by that bitchy smirk that was her trademark. "You just miss spying on me to see my boobs."

I laughed, surprised to hear her reference the memory I'd just had. Her friends wandered back over, having purchased several items from Chris.

"Hey, girls. You ready to blow this pop stand?" Leah asked.

"Aren't you getting anything?" the one named Ann asked.

Leah shrugged. "No girly shirts and no armbands. I guess not." She turned back to me, and I could see the good-bye written on her face. For some reason, I didn't want her to go.

"Are you here for the whole weekend?" I asked. When she nodded, I jumped in with the only Ace I had up my sleeve. "Listen, if you come by early tomorrow, we're giving out about fifty more armbands. If you want an autograph, I can hook you up. I'll save one for you." From my periphery, I could see her friends giggle and elbow each other again.

Leah arched an eyebrow. "You'd do that for me?"

I feigned nonchalance. I had to get back on my game, but the truth is I had always liked Leah's bitchy attitude. "Yeah. For all of you. I'll have four armbands waiting for you tomorrow morning. Got that Chris?" I said over my shoulder, not taking my eyes off Leah. I could see her trying to hide how badly she wanted that armband, and then there was something else in her eyes. I couldn't be sure, but something in her expression seemed to go beyond just wanting an armband.

"Thanks, perv. See you tomorrow, then. Ladies?" Leah turned to lead the group back out into the crowded lobby.

Chris came to lean on the counter with me, both of us watching her long, sexy legs stride away, her hips swaying just enough to cause that skirt to swing dangerously close to giving us a peek at her perfect ass.

"Damn, Black. That's one hot woman." Chris whistled softly. I immediately felt some sort of possessive instinct overcome me. I snapped my head in his direction, my eyes daring him to say another word. He looked momentarily shocked, but then he just laughed. "Down boy. I'm just sayin'." He turned to greet some more customers, and I reluctantly did the same.

*****

LPOV

Several hours later, I was growing increasingly annoyed with myself. The girls and I were in line for another Q-and-A, this one featuring James Marsters from Buffy. It was our last panel for the evening, and we were all pretty tired. But what was annoying me was not the long day, the long wait, or the need to pee (again). No, I was frustrated by the fact that I could not seem to get Jacob off my mind.

He'd been part of my life since we were kids. We had fought and picked at each other like siblings our whole lives. Up until after… Sam. Then, Jake had reached out to try to be my friend. As if. I didn't need anyone's pity.

Soon after that, he had met his own first love. I watched from my fog of depression as he grew from a goofy, horny teenager into a tall, handsome, confident…well… man.

Until his heart, too, had been broken. People could not quite forgive him for falling for a white girl, even one whose father was his father's best friend, and something in his normally sunny personality began to harden. Around that time, I had taken off for California after being offered a scholarship to UC Berkeley. To this day, I tried never to look back.

I hadn't seen or even thought about Jacob in over three years. So why, now, could I not get him off my mind? And when had he gotten so… fucking gorgeous?

"James Marsters was so awesome!" Bridget gushed. She, Ann, and Jules were standing up, stretching.

I shook myself a little, shocked to find that I was in the ballroom and not still waiting in line. Great. I had basically obsessed over Jacob during the entire James Marsters panel. I snorted loudly in disgust.

"Leah?" Jules asked, concerned. "Ready to go? I'm starving."

I nodded and stood, too. We had agreed earlier to skip tonight's Con ball in favor of much-needed food. We'd go to Saturday's ball instead.

I lead the way back through the lobby, intending to head outside and down to the Hard Rock Café. On the way, we passed the hotel bar, where an impromptu party had started.

Suddenly, the dense crowd parted, giving me a clear shot of the bar. There was Jacob, along with Chris and a few others who must, given their extreme good looks, also be working for Kenyon. They were surrounded by a group of giggling, scantily-costumed girls. Perhaps it was the near state of starvation I was in that was making me lose my cool, but I felt my temper begin to unravel when he grinned at something one of the mostly-naked girls said.

"Hey, isn't that your hot friend, Jacob?" Jules asked, pointing. I slapped at her upraised hand and hissed for her to chill the fuck out. No need to call his attention to us while I was so unexplainably, um, jealous.

"God, he's unbelievably gorgeous." Ann sighed.

Bridget added breathily, "He is quite possibly the most beautiful man I've ever seen in real life." She sighed dramatically and fanned herself.

"Truly," Ann agreed.

"What? Beautiful?" I sneered, not wanting to admit to them or myself that I could clearly see that my pseudo-kid brother had turned out to be the things that hot fantasies are made of.

"Yep, he is sort of beautiful," Jules declared decisively. Ugh. I tugged on their arms, pulling them behind me, out into the muggy Atlanta night. As we made our way to the Hard Rock, I realized I had to agree with them. Jacob Black, with his commanding height, powerful muscles, chiseled features, and charming smile was most definitely sort of beautiful.

*****

Day 2

JPOV

I woke up Saturday morning with a raging headache. It was already eleven. I was late for my shift, and late for meeting Leah and her friends for the armbands. I hurried to shower and dress in my uniform: leather pants, a black t-shirt, and biker boots. I let my damp hair hang to my shoulders, too rushed to care what it looked like.

"Hey there, Mary Sunshine," Chris said loudly when I arrive at The Dark-Hunter booth. He looked about as bad as I felt.

I grunted at him and got to work. I didn't know whether Leah had already stopped by, but I was pretty sure she had. I scanned the crowd while I waited on customers.

"Looking for someone special?" Chris asked, smirking.

"Shut the fuck up," I hissed at him. "Why are you so loud this morning?"

"Take some damn Tylenol and man up, Black. No one told you to do shots last night. Oh wait, me and about five of those hot girls did." He handed me the bottle of Tylenol. I downed four in one swallow.

I searched my fuzzy brain for some clear memories of last night. I had drank. A lot. Did I hook up with any of those hotties? I didn't think so. No… oh, no. I had talked some girl's ear off all night about the strange coincidence of running into my old family friend in Atlanta after so many years. My old friend, who I happened to have a crush on since I was a kid.

I slapped my hand to my forehead. Damn drunken talking. I shook my head and tried to turn on the charm for the customers, for the sake of my job.

A few hours later, I glanced anxiously at my watch. I hadn't eaten, and I had been hoping to slide in to the Star Wars panel that started at one. What? That was Billy's favorite movie from his childhood. He made me watch it ad nauseum growing up. And it might have been one of my favorites, too.

"Why you so antsy? I already told you that those chicks showed up for their armbands at ten," Chris reminded me. "Hey, now that I think about it, that really hot one—Leah?—she seemed a bit disappointed that your ugly mug wasn't here."

I really liked Chris. He was a good guy. But I might have to punch him in the mouth today.

He looked at me and snickered. "Go take your break, man. I'll see you back at, what, three?"

Twenty minutes later, I approached the long line for the Star Wars panel. No way was I going to hike to the back of that shit. It probably wrapped around the atrium and snaked up the stairs by this point. The panel was set to begin in thirty more minutes. And I don't wait in lines. Ever.

I gripped my Subway bag tighter in my hand and strode toward the front, almost tripping over a pair of long, slender, jean-clad legs stretched out across the floor. "Sorry," I mumbled, looking down. I stopped dead in my tracks. It was Leah, complete with that "fuck you" look on her face. Her expression relaxed when she saw it was me.

"Star Wars panel?" I asked, with a teasing gleam in my eye.

"Yeah. What of it?" There was that slight blush again. I smiled. Embarrassed bitchy Leah was becoming my new favorite thing.

I extended my hand to her and she looked at me questioningly. "Working at the Con gets you some privileges. Like not waiting in lines," I explained. She smiled and grabbed my hand, pulling herself up. She bent over to get her little coffin bag, giving me a nice view of her perfect ass.

"Eyes up, perv," she ordered upon straightening back up. Her face was stern but her eyes smiled mischievously. "Star Wars panel?" she teased.

"Yeah. What of it?" I repeated her words back to her. She laughed and we headed for the front of the line. I flashed my employee badge at the worker-bee manning the door. He gave us a slight head nod as the rest of the crowd muttered irritably when we sat down in front of them to wait.

"Got your armband I see," I said, unwrapping my foot-long meatball sub. She smiled and nodded, not able to conceal her excitement at getting her autograph later today. "Where are your girls?" I took a bite of the sub.

"BSG panel." Leah grabbed the sub out of my hand and took a huge bite.

"Hey!"

"What?" she mumbled, her mouth full. "I'm fucking hungry. I've been sitting in this damn line for an hour. I didn't know you would show up and be so useful or I would have stopped for lunch." She licked some extra marinara sauce from her fingers.

Fuh…?

Watching her tongue slide over her fingers was way sexier than it should have been. Her staring at me like I just had a lobotomy was not. I think my mouth was hanging open. I tried to recover. "BSG?"

"Battle Star Galactica. Keep up." She flicked her tongue out to graze her finger for one last morsel of sauce, her eyes trained on me. She smiled wickedly. "Perv."

My (not so) witty comeback was cut off by a group of girls all dressed like the goddess Artemis, a key figure in Kenyon's novels. "Are you a Kenyon Were Hunter?" a tiny redhead asked.

"As a matter of fact, I am," I answered with a slightly embarrassed smile.

"See, I told you," the redhead said to her friends. "Okay, wolf, bear, or Tigard?"

"Yeah, see, Sherrilyn doesn't really have us choose. I—" I started to explain, but Leah interrupted.

"Wolf, definitely. Think about Vane, Fang, and Fury. I mean, Acheron aside, the wolves are hands down the sexiest Kenyon characters. Jacob here screams wolf."

Redhead nodded. "Mmmmm, yeah. The wolves are so hot."

"I know, right?" Leah laughed, giving the girl a genuine smile. She must really be into these books.

Hey, wait. Leah thinks wolves are sexy and that I scream wolf. Cool… very cool.

The girls wandered off, and Leah and I finished my lunch together, talking easily.

When it was time to head inside the ballroom for the panel, I helped her back up from the floor. I was completely surprised to feel her fingers latch onto my waistband as she followed behind me. The slight brush of her fingers sent heat through my body. What the fuck was Leah doing to me?

When we reached our seats, Leah let go, her face impassive as though that hadn't just happened. I didn't figure her for a game player. Was she feeling some attraction to me, too?

After the panel, we threaded our way through the crowd toward the door. I grabbed her hand to lead the way, even though our height made navigating through the throng of people relatively easy. I felt her stiffen for just a moment before she gripped my hand just a little bit tighter. All I could focus on was the electricity that was surely glowing around our skin from the contact.

Back out in the atrium, Leah dropped my hand to check her watch. "I gotta go. I guess I'll see ya." She suddenly seemed uncomfortable.

The hell? Her face wore a neutral expression. All right, maybe she didn't want to feel whatever it was going on between us. She huffed out a frustrated sigh and looked me in the eyes. She must have read the disappointment in mine because her expression softened.

"I've got to go back to my room to get my book for the autograph. Um, my friends and I are going to the ball thingy later tonight. You coming?" Leah asked, her tone clearly pushing for nonchalant but falling short.

Yeah. The big Saturday night, post costume-contest ball. No thanks. This was usually the night I reserved for exploring the nightlife of whatever town I was in. "I don't think so. I was going to check out some clubs in Atlanta—"

"Right. Okay, then. Listen, thanks for hooking us up with the armbands. I've gotta go if I'm going to meet my friends in time." Leah's words came fast. I watched her shut back down. Damn it. I started to say something, to stop her, but her long legs had already carried her too far away.

*****

LPOV

What the hell? Was I actually going to let Jacob fucking Black ruin my Dragon Con weekend? And why the hell was he having this affect on me, anyway?

I threw my now-autographed copy of _Acheron_ on the bed, stripping off my jeans and t-shirt so I could get ready for the ball. I had left the girls on the elevator, heading up to their room to get ready before meeting me for the impending freak show known as the Saturday Night Ball. I had actually been excited about it, before the Star Wars panel.

I felt like a complete idiot, flirting with Jake, thinking there was some attraction there between us, only to have him blow me off completely when I invited him to the ball. Or sort of invited him to the ball. Or, at least mentioned that I was going to the ball.

I stalked to the shower, hoping the hot water would ease some of the tension from my body. Who cared what he thought? I didn't ever have to see him again. I mean, I managed to go three years without laying eyes on him, not even when I had been back to La Push for holidays.

Somewhere between shaving my legs and towel-drying my hair, I managed to let it go. There were a ton of geeky and freaky people here at Dragon Con, but there were a few cute, relatively normal guys, too. Perhaps I would find someone to flirt with tonight. And, even if I didn't, my cyber friends were proving to be pretty fun to hang out with.

I refocused my energy into looking good. Damn good.

I blow-dried my hair, smoothing a silk serum over the strands until they gleamed like glass. I carefully applied my makeup, using black eyeliner to create a more cat-like shape to my eyes. I smudged on smoky shadow before adding just a touch of white shimmer to the inside corners of my lids. Several coats of mascara later, I was satisfied with the effect. I finished off the look with blood-red lipstick.

Now for the outfit. I smiled. I was going for the trashy, sexy goth look. Why not? When would I have the chance to dress like this again?

Black patent leather corset top that pushed my boobs into irresistible cleavage. Check. Black satin boy shorts with black and white ruffles across my ass. Check. Fishnet stockings and black, lace up stiletto boots. Check. Torn black angel wings, and twisted black devil horns in my hair. Check.

When I met the girls in the lobby, their dropped-jaw reaction was all I needed to know. I was bad ass. I complimented them on their outfits before we headed into the ballroom and over to the bar. The music was loud, the bass pumping so hard it vibrated through my body. I ordered shots all around.

We toasted to new friends, funny experiences, and dressing up in costumes like we had all secretly wanted to do for so long. Next, we hit the dance floor. I closed my eyes and let myself get carried away by the pounding bass. I had to fend off a few brave male suitors, finally getting a long reprieve by pulling Jules over, dancing with her instead. Let them watch and wonder. I no longer cared whether I found a guy to flirt with, I just wanted to have fun.

My groove was interrupted by a waitress tapping me on the shoulder and handing me a drink. With a nod of her head, she indicated that someone at the bar had sent it over. I looked over at the bar, searching for my anonymous benefactor, only to lock eyes with Jake.

The fuck? His eyes were glued to me. He smirked and inclined his head once, letting me know he had sent the drink. What the hell was he doing here, why had he sent me a drink, and, after blowing me off this afternoon, why the fuck was he ogling me?

I grabbed the waitress's arm and handed the drink back to her. Fuck you, Jacob Black.

I was vaguely aware of my friends looking back and forth between me and Jake, shaking their heads at my refusal of his drink. Well, screw it. They wouldn't understand. I had sort of, almost, maybe flirted with my pseudo kid brother today and been rejected. The fact that he was here and could out me to my family back home was bad enough. But the possibility that he could also describe how I'd been into him, too? Cringe-worthy.

I turned back to the dance floor and resumed dancing. But I couldn't help myself, so I opened my eyes to discretely check on Jacob's whereabouts. He was in exactly the same place, still staring straight at me. He looked pissed and maybe a little… hungry? And not in the food kind of way.

Well, hell, that turned me on. Things couldn't get any stranger, could they? I would blame it on the drinks later.

I caught his eye and ever-so-slightly licked my lips. I watched in satisfaction as he took an involuntary step forward. He smiled, so sexy, and motioned me over. I shook my head, smirking, and turned to the nearest guy. I was probably several inches taller than the lucky bastard, but I allowed him to grind behind me anyway. Remember, blaming it on the drinks later.

The next thing I knew, my eyes snapped back open as my arm was grabbed by long, strong, hot fingers and I was jerked off the dance floor.

*****

JPOV

I roughly pulled Leah from the dance floor and out of the ballroom. I was fuming and also completely turned on. The crush I had carried from childhood turned into full-on want and need. Hanging out earlier proved that we still "got" each other. And the few brief touches from today combined with her barely-there costume and lip-licking… well, this was so happening.

"Jake," she said, not quite strongly enough to stop me. I looked down at her, trying to keep my eyes on her face and not her breasts.

She must have seen something she liked in my gaze, because at that moment any resistance faded away. She squeezed my arm and smiled seductively. "Let's go." She threaded her fingers through mine, leading me quickly to the elevator. Once the doors slid shut, Leah turned predatory, backing me up against the mirrored wall, stepping between my legs.

I slid my hands down her arms, brushing my fingers over her hips, before resting them on her ruffled ass. Her hands roamed over my torso, and our breathing grew shallower. I leaned down and slanted my lips against hers, ignoring the bell as the elevator doors opened to allow other passengers on. She pressed more fully into me, and put her hand around the back of my neck, pulling me deeper into the kiss, giving me my first real taste of her. I was vaguely aware of some comments made by the new passengers before they quickly disembarked. The elevator continued to her floor, where she pulled me out, walking backward so as not to interrupt our kisses.

This wasn't exactly what I expected when I had abruptly changed my plans upon seeing her outside the ballroom. I had been heading out with Chris and the gang, disappointed that Leah hadn't allowed me to finish my sentence earlier. I had wanted to invite her to join me. As we crossed the lobby, I had seen her outside the ballroom with her friends. I took one look at her outfit and my jaw dropped. I don't even think I told Chris good-bye before I stalked after her. There was no way in hell I was going anywhere with Leah looking like that. She was so hot and completely, well, fuckable. The corset, tiny… uh… shorts, and fish nets would have starring roles in my future fantasies, but I wanted the reality. Right. Now.

We stumbled into her hotel room. I used my foot to slam the door closed. "God, you're so hot, Leah," I whispered in her ear before trailing kisses down her neck. She bit her bottom lip and her breath hitched. I took that as my cue to walk us over to the bed.

"In a hurry?" She laughed, but her face and chest were flushed.

I began unlacing the ties on her corset. "Just for this part. I plan on taking my time as soon as I get you out of these clothes." Her response was a soft gasp.

The ties on her corset were proving uncooperative, so I began to rip them open.

"Hey!" Leah slapped at my hands. "This thing cost a fortune." She reached behind her back and expertly unlaced it before letting it fall to the floor. I swallowed thickly at the sight of her full breasts and hardened, dark pink nipples. I reached out my hands, lightly stroking her with my thumbs and was rewarded with a moan. The look on Leah's face as she closed her eyes and arched into me was so completely undone.

"God, Jake," she whispered. I sat back on the bed and moved my hands from her breasts, trailing them down her lean, softly muscled tummy, and hooked my fingers into the waistband of her little ruffled shorts. I leaned forward and gently sucked her nipple into my mouth. "God! Jake!" She was louder this time. I smiled and bit down lightly before releasing her swollen bud.

Leah wriggled her hips, helping me remove her shorts. Fuck me, she had gone commando underneath. I growled my appreciation and leaned back on my hands so I could get a nice, long look at her, naked except for her fish nets and boots.

Leah smirked confidently and lifted her leg, resting the sharp-heeled stiletto on my thigh, giving me a clear view of heaven before she bent over slightly and unlaced her boot, her eyes never leaving mine. She took her time, switching legs to unlace the other boot, before straddling me on the bed.

"You have on too many clothes," she said, ripping my shirt over my head. Her eyes darkened to the deepest ebony as she took in my six-pack and muscled chest. Her gaze rested on my phoenix tattoo that she had gotten a peek of yesterday. "When did you get so fucking sexy?" she asked. She licked her lips once, then dipped her head to lick and nibble her way across the lines of my tat. I don't think I had ever felt anything hotter than Leah's full lips sliding over my chest while her long legs squeezed against the outside of my thighs. I brushed her hair back from her shoulder and placed a kiss underneath her ear. She shivered.

"I want you, Leah," I told her fiercely. The attraction I felt between us seemed too intense. My boyhood crush aside, this desire I had for her seemed to come out of nowhere, too strong to be denied.

She smiled, cocky and lusty, and pulled on the button of my pants. "Lose these, then." She slid around me and crawled up the bed, flipping over to lie on her back, but not before I got a look at the perfect ass I'd been admiring for two days. I hurried out of my pants and boxer briefs before joining her on the bed. "Oh, you did that way too fast. I didn't get a good enough look." She propped up on one elbow and ran her other hand down my chest and torso before gripping my rock hard erection in her warm, soft hand.

I groaned and pushed her back down to the mattress. "There's so much I want to do to you."

"We have all night. Right now, I just want this… you… so badly. I don't want to wait," she said, wrapping her legs around me, her tall frame lining up perfectly with mine. I pushed inside her, and we both groaned in pleasure.

"You feel so good," I panted between thrusts. She smiled once before closing her eyes and pulling my head down to rest in the crook of her neck. And we both lost ourselves.

*****

Day 3

LPOV

Way too early the next day, I was back in coach class as my flight back to San Francisco taxied down the runway. I put my ear buds in and closed my eyes, thinking back over the weekend.

My alarm had gone off at four AM. I groaned and unwrapped myself from Jacob's arms to turn it off. We had maybe gotten two hours of sleep.

I looked over at him, his eyes still closed, the sheet tangled low on his waist. I sighed. Definitely sort of beautiful.

"Wake up. I have a flight to catch, and I'm hungry." I pushed on his shoulder. I have to admit, I was a bit nervous. How would we act in the light of day after the unforgettable night we'd had? After rushing through the first time, at my overheated insistence, Jacob had tortured me slowly with his fingers and tongue, before we did it again, several more times.

Jacob opened his eyes sleepily, and grinned at me with that dazzling smile of his. "Come here," he pulled me back into his arms and kissed me sweetly. Then he pulled back and we just stared at each other uncertainly, until I finally looked away. "I don't want this to be weird, Leah. I don't want you to regret any of this. I won't."

I inwardly breathed a sigh of relief. Thank God. I was prepared to be bitchy, but Jacob seemed to know exactly how to make it okay. "I won't, either. We're cool. Now, you order breakfast, and I'll shower." I bounded out of bed.

When I finished showering, I ran around the room, packing in a rush, while Jake used the complimentary toothbrush and pulled his shirt and pants back on.

We talked easily, again, over breakfast, laughing about childhood memories and even newer ones from our experiences at Dragon Con. Before long, I had to grab my cab to the airport and Jacob had to prepare for work. He still had one more day of the Con left.

Realizing I had missed out on breakfast with the girls, I sent them a text: _As you know I was with Jake. We'll gchat tonight. See you at the next Con._

Jacob walked me down to the lobby. I began to grow uncertain again as we waited for the cab in a somewhat awkward silence.

"So, I guess this is good-bye." I tried to smile. "It's been a strange weekend."

Jake shook his head, handing me his cell phone. "Give me yours; put your number in mine. We'll stay in touch or something."

I grabbed his phone and put in my number. We switched back, and he forced me to pose for a picture. So I arched my brow and gave him the finger. He laughed and ruffled my hair.

My cab pulled up then.

"See ya, Clearwater."

"Later, perv."

So, whatever. That's where we were. Could I fall for Jake? Yes. Was that going to happen? It didn't look like it.

Sighing, I opened _Acheron_ and let it distract me for the rest of the flight.

When the plane finally touched down and I disembarked in San Francisco, I turned on my phone and saw that I had missed a text message.

_How do you feel about another strange weekend, no Con involved? I seem to have the opportunity for a layover in San Francisco. Jake_

_*****_

**A/N: Story title inspired by the song Three Strange Days by School of Fish. Many thanks to my beta, deemichelle, and to the ladies sponsoring this contest.**


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